What's on the Art Supply List?

Maybe it's a bit early to be thinking about next year's supply list?  It's true, it is early, but I'm always working on lists of supplies - keeping inventories of what I have and am low on so that I order wisely for the year to come.  Because supply lists need to be submitted by late Spring to admin so that notices can be sent home with parents to work on over the summer, I NEED to start thinking about it now.

So let's face it, cash flow in education is a thing of the past now days and school is so much different than it was when we (I) went to school.  I remember the school paid for things like pencils, paper, folders to keep our homework in, art supplies, and more.

Now days the money we get to fund the art program (if there is one) needs to be squeezed and stretched to the limits just to make ends meet.

This means relying on the families of the students you teach to help pitch in where they can.  I thank my lucky stars that I work for a school whose community strives to fill in the financial gaps so that we can have what we, the teachers, need in our classrooms to be successful.

At the start of each academic year I put out a list of basic needs that are "must haves" for each student to bring to class.  For other more specialized items such as tin foil, hand soap, paper towels, & Q-tips, I post those on a monthly wish list and hope that a family is willing to donate an item or two off the list.

Here is a list that I have tweaked over the past few years and have found to be very helpful in starting the year out right.  Feel free to use it and make it your own to fit your needs!  Also - if you have anything you put on your list - let me know! I need new ideas too!

Student Art Supply List

Pre K & K:

        1.    1 packet of disinfectant wipes (any brand)

        2.    1 packet of baby wipes (any brand)

Grades 1-5:

1. A hardcover artist’s journal OR composition notebook with 50 or more bound pages. (Any type/brand of journal or notebook purchased is fine so long as it is no larger than 9 by 12 inches so that it can be properly stored. Returning students should bring their old art journal from last year and do not need to purchase a new journal.)
2. Large t-shirt to serve as art smock clearly labeled on front and back with student’s first and last name.
3. 1 pack of disinfectant wipes (any brand)
4. 1 pack of baby wipes (any brand)

Plans for the Substitute...

Sometimes it can be hard to let go of lessons and place them into the hands of the substitute.  Not that there is anything wrong with the substitute... It's just that I never know who is coming in and with a varied range of familiarity with the kids and my classroom, who knows what you can expect upon return? Crazy room that has been hit by a tornado or nice neat room where everything is where it should be?

Who wants to risk the outcome of a project on the one day you're out for a doctor's appointment anyway?  Better to come up with a fun activity that allows students to stretch their creative wings and let you have peace of mind.

I came across this book, Magic Trash; The Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art, written by J.H. Shapiro.

It's the perfect mix of life lesson, inspiration, and inventive creativity.  It's also a great read whether the class is in kindergarten or fifth grade.  There's just something to relate to at any age level.

The short of it is that Guyton finds himself in his troubled neighborhood and is faced with the choice to walk away from it or to do something about it.  What does he do?  He turns to art OF COURSE!  He gathers up the trash in the neighborhood to create wondrous sculptures, splashes paint here and there, and beautifies his community.

After the reading, students are given the task to turn "trash" (aka - left over art materials) and to turn it into something beautiful, useful, unique... and fun!

Here is a quick run down of the lesson:

Sub Plan

Date: 

Schedule:

Grade/Class:

Materials: "Garbage" (basically all the leftovers from the year's projects - scraps of paper, beads, old egg crate shells, cardboard, string pieces, glitter, confetti, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, streamer, ribbon, felt.. the sky is the limit!), glue sticks, scissors, color pencils, crayons, markers, etc.

Goals for Lesson:

Know: By the end of the lesson, you will KNOW who the artist, Tyree Guyton, is and how he turned trash in his neighborhood into "Magic Trash".

Understand: How art can take many forms and with a little imagination, anything (including trash) can be transformed into marvelous works of art.

Do: For our activity today, you will be given the challenge of turning trash given to you into "Magic Trash" - works of art of your own invention.

Outline of Lesson:

1. Read "Goals for Lesson"

2. Introduce and read Magic Trash.

3. During reading questions: What do you predict Tyree will do?  How did Tyree make this (refer to one of the book examples)?  What would you make if you had these materials?  Why does Tyree choose to use trash to make art?  How did Tyree's art change his neighborhood?

4. Activity: Place a back of "trash" at each table.  Invite students to work individually, in pairs, or as teams to create a "Magic Trash" art project to be presented at the end of class.  Make available: scissors, glue, tape, crayons, markers, blank paper, etc.

5. Closing: Invite students to do a gallery walk around the art projects.  Once students have had a chance to study each work of art, travel as a group from piece to piece and invite students to present their work, how they went about making it, what it symbolizes/means, if they could change or do something differently what would it be, likes and dislikes, etc.

6. Clean up: Send student work home with them or for pick up after school.  Have students place any leftover materials back into bags in preparation for the next class.

I've had students make crazy hats, princess tiaras, necklaces from ancient civilizations, a cloak, and parachute with man to name of few.   The sky is the limit with this activity and clean up is a breeze because you just throw all the leftover "garbage" back into a zip lock bag.

So breath deeply my friend, put together this simple lesson for the sub, and relax - you can now enjoy your day off.  *SIGH*

Nasty Concrete Walls! (How to Display Student Work)

You know what I'm talking about right?  Those gross, make-me-gag concrete walls every school has that you just happen to be in charge of decorating.  Yeah those ones.  I spent the first two years of my art teacher career battling it out with those walls and it wasn't until this year that I finally found a solution that is cost effective and a time saver (compared to other attempts).

What you'll need:

-heavy duty duct tape
-hot glue & hot glue gun
-extension cord (if needed)
-butcher paper


What to do:

1. Heat up the good old glue gun that takes a good while to heat up.

2. Cut the butcher paper to the size you need to cover your desired area.  I know lots of people say black or grey are good colors for displaying artwork, but come on people - this is elementary school, not a haunted house - so I choose blue or deep purple.

3. Using heavy duty duct tape, place a rolled piece at each corner of the paper.  Now you are ready to put up the butcher paper and adjust how it is hanging.  The tape in each corner allows you to make the adjustments with ease without being overly committed.

4. Once you have your butcher paper in place.  Slide the glue gun just under the lip of the butcher paper and go to glue town around the edges of the paper.  Keep extra glue sticks handy in your pocket for easy reloading.

5. Once the butcher paper is up, you can tape the artwork on and it will hold until the cows come home.  Sometimes, I will have already glued the students artwork to the butcher paper before taping and gluing it up.  The choice is yours- both take equal amounts of time.

6. To take down art, simply grab hold of an edge of the paper with the hot glue (or is it cool glue now that it's no longer hot?) and slowly pull away the paper from the wall.  Some tearing may happen, but honestly, it's not happened to me yet.  Then I grab a pair of scissors and cut out each work of art and have them delivered to the classrooms.

Voila!  Sounds like a lot, but believe me, when you spend hours taping up artwork only to come in the next day and find them on the floor, you'll find this method to be much more time effective.

Good luck! I hope this helps!